Nine months after the stunning trade that sent Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers, the Dallas Mavericks have made another major change.
Dallas is firing general Nico Harrison on Tuesday, ESPN's Shams Charania reports, cutting ties with the embattled leader of its front office after a tumultuous nine months.
Harrison, who worked as an executive at Nike before making the leap to NBA general manager in 2021, oversaw the Mavericks' run to the NBA Finals in 2024 but came under heavy criticism after blindsiding the league by trading Doncic in February. The Mavericks are off to a 3-8 start this season, sitting 14th in the Western Conference.
Here's what you need to know about Harrison's dismissal in Dallas.
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Why did Mavericks fire Nico Harrison?
The Mavericks' decision to cut ties with Harrison comes after the Mavericks limped to the finish line last season following the controversial Doncic trade and started the current season just 3-8 with serious offensive struggles.
While Mavericks owner Patrick Dumont signed off on the Doncic trade, Dumont has reportedly become more involved in day-to-day decisions for the Mavericks in recent months and understands the criticism of the deal.
While Dumont initially followed Harrison's direction on major decisions, The Athletic reported, he is taking a "more active role" this season, appearing courtside at games and involving himself in injury decisions as well.
While the Mavericks' NBA Draft Lottery luck that resulted in the right to select Cooper Flagg offered a brief respite from the criticism of the organization, Harrison continued to hear it from Dallas fans as the franchise struggled out of the gate this season. By all accounts, Dumont heard that criticism loud and clear and opted to cut ties with the general manager he inherited from Mark Cuban.
When did Nico Harrison become Mavericks GM?
Harrison was hired by the Mavericks in June of 2021, shortly after the organization parted ways with head of basketball operations Donnie Nelson. Harrison was an outside-the-box hire, as he had been serving as Vice President of North American Basketball Operations at Nike and did not have NBA front office experience.
The 2021 offseason was one of major change for Dallas, as Rick Carlisle also resigned as head coach, so the new regime of Harrison and coach Jason Kidd was put in place with Doncic as the centerpiece of an attractive young core that included Jalen Brunson.
Harrison let Brunson walk in 2022 but still molded the Mavericks into Western Conference champions by 2024 after acquiring Kyrie Irving, P.J. Washington and Daniel Gafford in separate trades over a year-long span. Once he traded Doncic in 2025, the public perception of Harrison changed dramatically.
Nico Harrison salary
Harrison's exact salary is unknown, as is the case for most NBA executives, but he signed a new multi-year contract extension with the Mavericks in June 2024, during the franchise's run to the NBA Finals.